The finalists for the Kirkus Awards 2023 were revealed on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. Here are the writers of African descent among the finalists.
Kirkus Reviews is a US book review magazine that publishes previews of books prior to their publication founded by Virginia Kirkus in 1933. The Kirkus Prize was created to celebrate the years of criticism that Kirkus Reviews had contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. It is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction, and young readers’ literature.
Lesley Nneka Arimah won in the fiction category while Brian Broome won in nonfiction in 2021. 2019 was a truly Black year at Kirkus as Colson Whitehead won in the fiction category, Saeed Jones took the honours in the nonfiction category and Jerry Craft was recognised in the Young Adult Category. In 2020, Raven Leilani, Mychal Denzel Smith, Gordon C. James, and Derrick Barnes won in their categories.
The finalists for the 2023 edition were announced last week with the following writers of African descent making the roll;
Fiction
Judges: bookseller Rosa Hernandez, book critic Michael Schaub, and Kirkus fiction editor Laurie Muchnick
Finalists
- Jamel Brinkley, Witness (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
- James McBride, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (Riverhead)
- Jesmyn Ward, Let Us Descend (Scribner)
Nonfiction
Judges: Mark Athitakis, Anjali Enjeti, and Kirkus nonfiction editor Eric Liebetrau
Finalists
- Safiya Sinclair, How To Say Babylon: A Memoir (Simon & Schuster)
Young Readers Literature
Judges: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, high school librarian Ayn Reyes Frazee, and Kirkus Young Readers’ editors Mahnaz Dar and Laura Simeon.
Finalist
- Valerie Bolling, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita, Together We Swim (Chronicle Books)
The three 2023 Kirkus Prize winners will be announced at an in-person ceremony on October 11, 2023, and live streamed on the Kirkus’ YouTube channel.
Leave a Reply